Wireless communication device with switched polarization and methods for use therewith

ABSTRACT

A wireless communication device includes a polarity setting module configured to set a plurality of polarity modes for the wireless communication with the plurality of external devices. The plurality of polarity modes includes selected ones of at least: a first polarity mode, and a second polarity mode. The polarity setting module sets the plurality of polarity modes based on information received from the plurality of external devices. A framing module is configured to generate data for transmission to the plurality of external devices based on the plurality of polarity modes set by the polarity setting module.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENTS

The present application claims priority based on 35 USC 119 to theprovisionally filed application entitled, WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICEWITH SWITCHED POLARIZATION AND METHODS FOR USE THEREWITH, having Ser.No. 61/868,844, filed on Aug. 22, 2013, the contents of which areincorporated herein for any and all purposes, by reference thereto.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

Various embodiments relate generally to wireless communication and moreparticularly to communication devices with transceivers and antennasystems that support wireless communications via different transmissionpolarizations.

2. Description of Related Art

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wirelinecommunications between wireless and/or wireline communication devices.Such communication systems range from national and/or internationalcellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-homewireless networks to radio frequency identification (RFID) systems. Eachtype of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, inaccordance with one or more communication standards. For instance,wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one ormore standards including, but not limited to, RFID, IEEE 802.11,BLUETOOTH, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access(CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS),multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variationsthereof.

During communication between wireless communication devices, signalssent from the first wireless communication device to the second will betransmitted with some original polarity. However, during transmissionthrough the communication channel, that signal will likely reflect onone or more surfaces, with each reflection changing the polarity of thesignal. Therefore, the second wireless communication device often doesnot receive the signal with the same polarity in which that signal wastransmitted. In addition, the communication channel has a differentchannel response for different polarities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

FIG. 1A illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication environment;

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication environment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary first wirelesscommunication device and an exemplary second wireless communicationdevice that are implemented as part of the wireless communicationenvironment;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary data sub-frame generated by the firstwireless communication device;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method for selectinga polarization direction of a transmitted signal;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary signal quality measurement determined bythe second wireless communication device;

FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary encoding and transmission technique ofa data sub-frame;

FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary encoding and transmission technique ofa data sub-frame;

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method for selectinga polarization configuration of transmitted signals;

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary first wirelesscommunication device and a plurality of exemplary second wirelesscommunication devices that are implemented as part of the wirelesscommunication environment;

FIG. 9 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communications betweenan exemplary first wireless communication device and a plurality ofexemplary second wireless communication devices as part of the wirelesscommunication environment;

FIG. 10 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communicationsbetween an exemplary first wireless communication device and a pluralityof exemplary second wireless communication devices as part of thewireless communication environment;

FIG. 11 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communicationsbetween an exemplary first wireless communication device and a pluralityof exemplary second wireless communication devices as part of thewireless communication environment;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of a method used in conjunction thewireless communication environment; and

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a method used in conjunction thewireless communication environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1a illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary wirelesscommunication environment. In particular a communication system is shownthat includes a communication device 10 that communicates real-time data24 and/or non-real-time data 26 wirelessly with one or more otherdevices such as base station 18, non-real-time device 20, real-timedevice 22, and non-real-time and/or real-time device 25. In addition,communication device 10 can also optionally communicate over a wirelineconnection with network 15, non-real-time device 12, real-time device14, non-real-time and/or real-time device 16.

In an embodiment the wireline connection 28 can be a wired connectionthat operates in accordance with one or more standard protocols, such asa universal serial bus (USB), Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 488, IEEE 1394 (Firewire), Ethernet, small computersystem interface (SCSI), serial or parallel advanced technologyattachment (SATA or PATA), or other wired communication protocol, eitherstandard or proprietary. The wireless connection can communicate inaccordance with a wireless network protocol such as WiHD, WiGig, NGMS,IEEE 802.11a, ac, ad, b, g, n, or other 802.11 standard protocol,BLUETOOTH, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), WIMAX, or other wireless networkprotocol, a wireless telephony data/voice protocol such as Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution (EDGE), Long term Evolution(LTE), Personal Communication Services (PCS), or other mobile wirelessprotocol or other wireless communication protocol, either standard orproprietary. Further, the wireless communication path can includemultiple transmit and receive antennas, as well as separate transmit andreceive paths to and from the communication device 10. RF communicationscan utilize different frequency spectra such as an 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 2.4GHz, 5 GHz, 60 GHz or other millimeter wave or V band frequencies, orother licensed or unlicensed spectra.

Communication device 10 can be a mobile phone such as a cellulartelephone, a local area network device, personal area network device orother wireless network device, a personal digital assistant, tablet,game console, personal computer, laptop computer, or other device thatperforms one or more functions that include communication of voiceand/or data via the wireless communication path. Further communicationdevice 10 can be an access point, base station or other network accessdevice that is coupled to a network 15 such at the Internet or otherwide area network, either public or private, via wireline connection 28.In an embodiment, the real-time and non-real-time devices 12, 14, 16,20, 22 and 25 can be personal computers, laptops, PDAs, mobile phones,such as cellular telephones, devices equipped with wireless local areanetwork or BLUETOOTH transceivers, FM tuners, TV tuners, digitalcameras, digital camcorders, or other devices that either produce,process or use audio, video signals or other data or communications.

In operation, the communication device includes one or more applicationsthat include voice communications such as standard telephonyapplications, voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications, localgaming, Internet gaming, email, instant messaging, multimedia messaging,web browsing, audio/video recording, audio/video playback, audio/videodownloading, playing of streaming audio/video, office applications suchas databases, spreadsheets, word processing, presentation creation andprocessing and other voice and data applications. In conjunction withthese applications, the real-time data 26 includes voice, audio, videoand multimedia applications including Internet gaming, etc. Thenon-real-time data 24 includes text messaging, email, web browsing, fileuploading and downloading, etc.

In an embodiment, the communication device 10 includes a wirelesstransceiver that operates in conjunction with an antenna array toproduce transmissions at different transmission polarizations and thatincludes one or more features or functions of the various embodimentsthat are described in greater detail in association with FIGS. 1B and2-13 that follow.

FIG. 1B illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communicationenvironment 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. The wirelesscommunication environment 100 provides wireless communication ofinformation, such as one or more commands and/or data, between wirelesscommunication devices (WCDs). The wireless communication devices mayeach be implemented as a standalone or a discrete device, such as amobile telephone, or may be incorporated within or coupled to anotherelectrical device or host device, such as a portable computing device, acamera, or a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit or another computingdevice such as a personal digital assistant, a video gaming device, alaptop, a desktop computer, or a tablet, a computer peripheral such as aprinter or a portable audio and/or video player to provide some examplesand/or any other suitable electronic device that will be apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art(s) without departing from the spiritand scope of the various embodiments.

The exemplary wireless communication environment 100 includes a firstwireless communication device 110 and a second wireless communicationdevice 150. The first wireless communication device 110 may represent anexemplary embodiment of a base station or access point or othercommunication device 10, and the second wireless communication device150 may represent an exemplary embodiment of user equipment within acellular communications network, a wireless local area network or otherwireless communication environment such as real-time and non-real-timedevices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 25.

The first wireless communication device 110 includes a polarity settingmodule 115 for setting a polarity of transmitted signals, and includesan antenna 112 for transmitting the signals into the wirelesscommunication environment 100. Herein, “polarity” refers the electricfield polarity of transmitted wireless signal as it is radiated from thetransmitting antenna, and may, for example, include a horizontalpolarity, vertical polarity, right-hand circular polarity, lefthandcircular polarity or other polarity. The second wireless communicationdevice 150 includes an antenna 152 for receiving the signals from thewireless communication environment 100, and includes a measurementmodule 155 for measuring channel conditions with respect to differentpolarities. Those skilled in the relevant art(s) will recognize thateach of the antenna 112 and the antenna 152 may include one or moreantennas, and may be capable of both transmitting and receiving signals.

The wireless communication environment 100 may also include a pluralityof reflection surfaces R1, R2 and R3 which reflect the transmittedsignals on their paths from the first wireless communication device 100to the second wireless communication device 150. For example, a signalS0 is transmitted directly from the first wireless communication device110 to the second wireless communication device 150 without anyintervening reflections; signal S1, transmitted at a transmission angleα1, is reflected by reflection surface R1; signal S2, transmitted at atransmission angle α2, is reflected by reflection surface R2; and signalS3, transmitted at a transmission angle α3, is reflected by reflectionsurface R3.

Detailed functionality of the first wireless communication device 110and the second wireless communication device 150, as well as the effectsof the reflection surfaces R1-R3, including several optional functionsand features are discussed below.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary first wirelesscommunication device 201 and an exemplary second wireless communicationdevice 202 that may be implemented as part of the wireless communicationenvironment 100. The first wireless communication device 201 provides anexample of first wireless communication device 110 and may represent anexemplary embodiment of a base station or access point or othercommunication device 10. The second wireless communication device 202provides an example of second wireless communication device 150 and mayrepresent an exemplary embodiment of user equipment within a cellularcommunications network, a wireless local area network or other wirelesscommunication environment such as real-time and non-real-time devices12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 25. While the first communication device 201 andthe second communication device 202 are shown as including variousmodules to illustrate one or more features of various embodiments,additional modules and components can likewise be included to supportthe additional functions of first wireless communication device 110,second wireless communication device 150, real-time and non-real-timedevices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 25, etc.

The first wireless communication device 201 includes a polarity settingmodule (PSM) 220 and a framing module 230, and may represent anexemplary embodiment of the first wireless communication device 110. Thesecond wireless communication device 202 includes a measurement module280 and a decision module 290, and may represent an exemplary embodimentof the second wireless communication device 150.

For purposes of this discussion, the first wireless communication device201 will be described with respect to preparing and transmittingsignals. Therefore, only the functionality of the first wirelesscommunication device 201 relating to preparing and transmitting signalswill be discussed. However, it will be understood that the firstwireless communication device 201 may also receive signals, in either aconventional manner, or with further reception polarization control asdescribed below with respect to the second wireless communication device202.

The first wireless communication device 201 includes an antenna and RFmodule 221 for sending signals to, and receiving signals from, thewireless communication environment 100 via an antenna array 211 whichmay include one or more antennas. The first wireless communicationdevice 201 also includes a controller module 210 for performing generalbackground control, as well as for processing signals received from theantenna and RF module 221, and a memory module 215 capable of storingvarious digital information. While shown schematically as separatemodules, controller module 210, polarity setting module 220, framingmodule 230 and encoder module 240 can be implemented by a singleprocessing device or a plurality of processing devices.

The first wireless communication device 201 also includes a polaritysetting module 220, such as polarity setting module 115, for setting apolarity of outgoing signals based on information received from thecontroller module 210. The polarity setting module 220 communicates witha framing module 230, which prepares data sub-frames for transmissionbased in part of the polarity setting module 220. Once the datasub-frames have been prepared, an encoder module 240 encodes the datasub-frames and forwards the encoded sub-frames to the antenna and RFmodule 221 for transmission to the plurality of external devices via RFsignaling in accordance with the selected polarity mode or modes. Itwill be noted that the antenna and RF module 221 may include thenecessary transmitter and receiver RF front-end functionality to effectwireless communications (e.g. amplifiers, mixers, filters, localoscillators, etc.) in attention to the antenna array 211, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the arts. Further, while the polaritysetting module 220 is shown as controlling the input to the framingmodule 230, the polarity setting module may further be coupled to theantenna module 221 to set and/or adjust the particular polarity mode ofthe first wireless communication device 201. In this fashion,transmission polarity can be adjusted based on either basebandprocessing, RF processing or antenna selection.

As discussed above, the first wireless communication device 201 and thesecond wireless communication device 202 should preferably select apolarization orientation for communication that has the best channelresponse, but the channel response likely differs for each polarizationoption. Therefore, when preparing sub-frames for communication, theframing module 230 prepares them in such a way as to allow for channelmeasurements of both polarities by a receiver.

The second communication device 202 includes an antenna and RF module222, a decoder module 240, a measurement module 280, a decision module290, a controller module 260 and a memory module 270. While shownschematically as separate modules, controller module 260, decoder module240, a measurement module 280, and a decision module 290 can beimplemented by a single processing device or a plurality of processingdevices. Further functions and features of wireless communication device202 are described in conjunction with FIGS. 3-13 that follow.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary data sub-frame 300 generated by thefirst wireless communication device 201. Like most data sub-frames, thesub-frame 300 includes a preamble portion 310, a channel estimationfield portion 320, a header portion 330, and a payload portion 340.Conventionally, the channel estimation field 320 includes presetinformation or tones. This allows a receiver to measure the channelresponse by analyzing the received channel estimation field anddetermining the effect that the channel had on that known information.However, conventional channel estimation fields are transmitted in asingle polarity, which allows for the receiver only to measure thechannel with respect to that single polarity.

In order to allow the receiver to measure multiple polarities, thechannel estimation field 320 of the sub-frame 300 is split into a firstpolarity portion 320 a and a second polarity portion 320 b. The firstpolarity portion 320 a is set to a first polarity (e.g., vertical orright-hand circular) and the second polarity portion is set to a secondpolarity that is orthogonal to the first polarity (e.g., horizontal orleft-hand circular).

In this manner, the sub-frame 300 is transmitted by the first wirelesscommunication device 201 with a channel estimation field 320 thatincludes at least two polarities such as two orthogonal polarities.While shown in terms of two polarities a larger number can be employed.Consequently, the sub-frame that is ultimately received by the secondwireless communication device 202 will also include a channel estimationfield 320 that includes multiple polarities. Specifically, because ofthe orthogonality of the polarities within the channel estimation field320, regardless of reflections that occur during communication, thefirst polarity portion 320 a and the second polarity portion 320 b willnot interfere with one another. Consequently, the second wirelesscommunication device 202 will be able to measure channel response foreach of these multiple polarities simultaneously or contemporaneously,as discussed in further detail below.

In addition, depending on one or more parameters, the framing module 230may dynamically generate the channel estimation field 320 so that itsfirst polarity portion 320 a and second polarity portion 320 b aredifferent in size in order to improve or optimize measurements. Forexample, the framing module 230 may reduce the size of one of thepolarity portions in order to allow for an expansion in the size of theother polarity portion. This may be desired based on which polarity iscurrently being used for communication, signal quality of receivedsignals, and/or channel conditions, among other parameters within thespirit and scope of the present disclosure. Signal quality may bemeasured, for example, as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal tointerference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indicator(RSSI), bit error rate (BER), etc.

For example, if the first wireless communication device 201 is currentlytransmitting signals using a first polarity, the framing module 230 mayincrease the size of the second polarity portion 320 b so as to providemore information to be used for measuring the second polarity channelresponse. In this manner, the framing module 230 can improve or optimizethe sizes of the polarity portions of the channel estimation field 320,provided that the size of the first polarity portion p₁ plus the size ofthe second polarity portion p₂ is equal to the size of the channelestimation field 320.

For purposes of this discussion, the second wireless communicationdevice 202 will be described with respect to receiving and analyzingsignals from the first wireless communication device 201. Therefore,only the functionality of the first wireless communication devicerelating to these features will be discussed in detail. However, it willbe understood that the second wireless communication device 202 may alsotransmit signals, in either a conventional manner, or as described abovewith respect to transmit polarity control of the first wirelesscommunication device 201.

The second wireless communication device 202 includes an antenna and RFmodule 222 that receives signals from the wireless communicationenvironment 100 via an antenna array 212, which may include one or moreantennas. The antenna and RF module 222 forwards received signals to adecoder module 250, which decodes the received signals. The secondwireless communication device 202 also includes a controller module 260,which performs general background control, as well as processes thedecoded signals received from the decoder module 250, and a memorymodule 270 capable of storing various digital information. It will benoted that the antenna and RF module 222 may include the necessarytransmitter and receiver RF front-end functionality to effect wirelesscommunications (e.g. amplifiers, mixers, filters, local oscillators,etc.) in attention to the antenna array 212, as will be understood bythose skilled in the arts.

In addition to forwarding the decoded signals to the controller module260, the decoder module 250 also forwards the decoded signals to ameasurement module 280. The measurement module 280 includes a firstpolarity measurement module 280 a and a second polarity measurementmodule 280 b and optionally additional polarity measurement modules inembodiments where more than two polarities are employed. The receivedsignal is sent to each of the first polarity measurement module 280 aand the second polarity measurement module 280 b, each of which measureschannel conditions from the received signal.

Presuming that the signal received by the second wireless communicationdevice 202 has a format as shown in FIG. 3, then the first polaritymeasurement module 280 a measures the channel response with respect tothe first polarity based on the first polarity portion 320 a of thechannel estimation field 320. Similarly, the second polarity measurementmodule 280 b measures the channel response with respect to the secondpolarity based on the second polarity portion 320 b of the channelestimation field 320. As discussed above, the channel estimationsub-fields 320 a, b include predetermined information, tones or otherpolarity measurement and training information. Therefore, measurementsmodules 280 a, 280 b measure the channel response by analyzing therespective received channel estimation sub field and determining theeffect that the channel had on the known information. In this manner,the second wireless communication device 202 is able to simultaneouslymeasure channel response for multiple different polarities using asingle data sub-frame.

It should be noted that the measurement module 280 may determine thelocations of the first polarity portion 320 a and the second polarityportion 320 b within the received data sub-frame from informationincluded within the preamble portion 310 and/or the header portion 330of the received data sub-frame 300. Alternatively, the measurementmodule 280 may conceivably include hardware, software, and/or firmwarefor determining the boundaries of the first polarity portion 320 a andthe second polarity portion 320 b without any additional information.

Once the channel response has been measured with respect to each of thepolarities, the measurement module 280 forwards the results to adecision module 290. The decision module 290 determines, based on thereceived channel response information, which polarity is preferredand/or whether to initiate a polarity switch in order to switch from acurrent communication polarity to an alternative polarity. The decisionmodule 290 may make its determination based on any number of factors,including which polarity exhibits better channel response, the currentcommunication polarity, and the difference between the channel responseof the alternative polarity and the channel response of the currentpolarity, etc. After making its decision, the decision module 290forwards the result to the controller module 260 for further processing,as discussed below.

During communication, there are many ways in which the first wirelesscommunication device 201 and the second wireless communication device202 can coordinate with each other so as to communicate using the mostpreferred signal polarity, among other signal characteristics.

As discussed above, it is important during communication for the secondwireless communication device 202 to select a polarization for futuresignals transmitted by the first wireless communication device 201.Therefore, measurement module 280 measures the channel response withrespect to the different polarizations included within the channelestimation field 320 of the received sub-frame 300. Once measured, thedecision module 290 makes a determination, based on the measured channelresponses, as to whether to initiate a switch from a current polarity tothe alternative polarity.

If the decision module 290 determines that a switch should be initiated,for any of the reasons discussed previously, the decision module 290reports this determination to the controller module 260. The controllermodule 260 then generates and forwards a polarity instruction signal tothe antenna module for transmission to the first wireless communicationdevice. It should be noted that a similar procedure may be performed inorder to select an initial signal polarity.

Upon receipt of the polarity instruction signal by the first wirelesscommunication device 201, the antenna and RF module 221 forwards thepolarity instruction signal to the controller module 210. The controllermodule 210 processes the polarity instruction to determine how to setits polarity, and forwards the result to the polarity setting module220. When preparing future data for transmission, the framing module 230prepares data sub-frames with the polarity set in the polarity settingmodule 220. In this manner, the first wireless communication device 201is able to accommodate the preferred polarity (e.g., the polarity thatprovides the better channel response) as measured by the second wirelesscommunication device 202.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method for selectinga polarization direction of a transmitted signal in accordance with theabove description. Presuming that the second wireless communicationdevice 202 is currently receiving signals having the first polarity, thedevice remains in this configuration until one or more conditions havebeen met (420). Example conditions may include whether Quality ofService (QoS) of the received signals falls below a predeterminedthreshold, whether the channel response of the alternative polarity issignificantly better than the channel response of the current polarity,etc., to provide some examples.

Once the conditions have been met, the second wireless communicationdevice 202 initiates the polarization switch to a second polarization(430). At this time, the first wireless communication device 201 beginstransmitting signals having the second polarization, and the secondwireless communication device 202 begins monitoring the received signalshaving the second polarization (440). The devices remain in thisconfiguration until a second set of conditions (which may be the same ordifferent from those discussed above regarding the first polarity) havebeen met. When the conditions have been met, the device again initiatesa switch back to the first polarity (410).

In this manner, the wireless communication devices can continue tocommunicate using an optimal signal polarization. Consequently, negativeeffects of the channel can be reduced, and signal quality can beimproved.

Another parameter that may be controlled is transmission angle oftransmitted signals. Those skilled in the relevant art(s) will recognizethat beam-forming and other directivity techniques allow wirelesstransmitters to direct wirelessly-transmitted signals in a particularphysical direction, so that mainbeam and/or sidelobes of the radiatedsignal can be steered in space.

As discussed above, and as shown in FIG. 1B, the first wirelesscommunication device 110 may transmit signals to the second wirelesscommunication device 150 in any of multiple different directions, eachof which will have its own channel response for each different polarity.Therefore, by comparing the responses of the different transmissionangles, further improvement or optimization can be achieved forimproving signal quality.

In order to select a preferred transmission angle, the wirelesscommunication devices may coordinate the initiation of a transmissionsweep. The sweep may consist of transmitting signals over a period oftime in each of a plurality of different directions (preferably in somepredetermined order). During this period, the second wirelesscommunication device 150 measures characteristics of the receivedsignals. These characteristics are preferably the channel response ofthe first polarity portion 320 a and the second polarity portion 320 bof the received sub-frames, but may additionally or alternativelyinclude other measurements, such as QoS, for example.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary signal quality measurement 510determined by the second wireless communication device 150. As shown inFIG. 5, there are several periods of very poor signal quality, whichcorrespond to particularly noisy communication paths, or paths that donot adequately reflect the signal to the second wireless communicationdevice 150. Between those low-quality periods are bursts of high-qualityperiods, which correspond to low-noise paths and/or paths whosereflections direct the signal to the second wireless communicationdevice 150.

From this signal quality measurement, the second wireless communicationdevice 150 can determine the high-quality transmission angles bycomparing the measured signal quality to a predetermined threshold th.As discussed above, signal quality may be measured, for example, assignal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference-plus-noise ratio(SINR), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), bit error rate (BER),etc. Times at which the received signal quality was above the thresholdth (e.g., times T1, T2 and T3) are then reported to the first wirelesscommunication device 110 along with the measured time having the bestsignal quality (e.g., time T3).

The first wireless communication device 110 matches the received timeinformation with its transmission angles. For example, the firstwireless communication device 110 determines that at time T1, it wastransmitting at angle α1; at time T2, it was transmitting at angle α2;and at time T3, it was transmitting at angle α3. The transmitter thensets the transmission angle to angle α3 corresponding to the best signalquality identified by the second wireless communication device. In thismanner, the devices are able to select an improved or optimizedcommunication path in addition to selecting a preferred polarity.

In order to streamline coordination and switching between the firstwireless communication device 201 and the second wireless communicationdevice 202, it may be beneficial for each of those devices to maintainand update a table of information relating to each of the differentpossible link combinations.

As discussed above, each polarity and each transmission direction resultin a different channel response, and therefore different communicationqualities. Further, additional information may also be tracked(discussed below), which adds to the complexity of selecting newcommunication parameters. Therefore, the first and second wirelesscommunication devices can maintain measured information in order toquickly and efficiently maintain communication optimization.

Table 1 below illustrates an exemplary table of information that may beshared between the first wireless communication device 201 and thesecond wireless communication device 202. As discussed above, each ofthe first wireless communication device 201 and the second wirelesscommunication device 202 may measure various signals, data or gatherother information during communication, which can then be shared withthe other device so that each maintains a table of possiblecommunication parameters.

TABLE 1 Example information stored for efficient switching POLARITYANGLE QUALITY Polarity 1 Angle α1 Q1 Polarity 1 Angle α2 Q2 Polarity 1Angle α3 Q3 Polarity 2 Angle α1 Q1 Polarity 2 Angle α2 Q1 Polarity 2Angle α3 Q1

For example, the second wireless communication device 202 may be capableof measuring channel response for each polarity, whereas the firstwireless communication device 201 may be capable of pairing signalqualities measured by the second wireless communication device 202 withtransmission angles. When the first wireless communication device 201generates measurement information that is pertinent to thecommunication, the controller module 210 stores that information in thememory module 215 for future reference. Similarly, for measurementinformation generated by the second wireless communication device 202,the controller module 260 causes the information to be stored in thememory module 270 for future reference.

This information may be stored in the form of a correspondence table,similar to Table 1, above. In other words, signal quality or channelresponse measurements may be stored in correspondence with thecommunication parameters associated with those measurements, such aspolarity, transmission angle, etc. In addition, in order to maintainsynchronization with each other, the first and second wirelesscommunication devices may share their own measurement information withthe other. Further, the information contained within the tables may beoccasionally updated. This may be performed at specific intervals, orafter certain conditions have been met, such as change in channelconditions, etc.

Utilizing these techniques, the wireless communication devices can shareinformation with one another in order to streamline parameter switches.In an embodiment, wireless communication devices can synchronize theirdata tables with one another in order to streamline parameter switches.For example, during communication, the second wireless communicationdevice 202 may determine that current communication parameters areproducing unacceptable signal quality and/or channel response.Consequently, the second wireless communication device 202 initiates aswitch from the current set of communication parameters to another setof parameters. Because the second wireless communication device 202maintains a data table with the signal qualities of other sets ofcommunication parameters, the second wireless communication device 202can immediately select a new set of communication parameters simply byidentifying the stored set of parameters having the best signal quality,or selecting a set of parameters whose signal quality exceeds apredetermined threshold.

In addition, in order to adapt the first wireless communication device201 to the newly-selected communication parameters, the second wirelesscommunication device 202 need only communicate that a switch has beeninitiated. Because the first wireless communication device 201 maintainsthe same table as the second wireless communication device 202, thefirst wireless communication device 201 can immediately adjust to thenew parameters by selecting the set of parameters that are stored incorrespondence with the best signal quality, or selecting a set ofparameters whose signal quality exceeds a predetermined threshold. Inother words, the table provides a pre-determined ranking of signalquality for the various combinations of polarizations and angle oftransmission.

In this manner, the first and second wireless communication devices canquickly and efficiently switch communication parameters whencircumstances warrant. Consequently, the devices can maintaincommunication optimization with very little transition time.

As discussed above, the first wireless communication device 201 and thesecond wireless communication device 202 include antenna arrays 211 and212, respectively. When these antenna arrays include multiple antennas,communication can be further optimized by adjusting the parameters ofeach antenna within each array individually. Specifically, whereas theabove discussions presumed that communication parameters (polarity,direction, etc.) are applied to all antennas, further improvement oroptimization can be achieved by applying individual parameters toindividual antennas, or subsets of antennas, in the antenna array.

For example, during the channel estimation, the second wirelesscommunication device 202 may measure the channel response for eachantenna of its array. The second wireless communication device can thenset the polarities and/or other properties of each of its individualantennas based on the measurement results.

In addition, this antenna-based optimization can be coordinated with thefirst wireless communication device 201. For example, based on themeasurements by the second wireless communication device 202, the firstwireless communication device can set parameters for each of itsantennas. Further, by coordinating a directionality scan between thedevices, the first wireless communication device 201 can adjust eachindividual antenna, or small groups of antennas, to transmit signals indifferent directions depending on the measurement data determined by thesecond wireless communication device.

In order to aid this operation, it is again beneficial for the secondwireless communication device 202 and the first wireless communicationdevice 201 to share measurement information so that both can maintain atable of signal qualities based on various parameters. Of course, theaddition of being able to adjust each individual antenna will add atleast one additional layer of complexity to the tables. In other words,Table 1 (shown above) will exist for each individual antenna, or subsetsof antennas, for example. In this manner, the devices can furtherincrease optimization and detail in order to even further improvecommunication.

The above provides various static polarization configurations, whichselect a configuration and remain in that configuration until somefuture event. However, in certain circumstances, it may be preferably tocommunicate via a dynamic polarization configuration, in which thepolarization repeatedly switches without the occurrence of anyparticular event. This may be particularly beneficial when there is nodata table, when measurements are significantly close to each other,when measurement are unreliable, and/or when the channel is changing toofast to benefit from a static configuration, among others. In thesecircumstances, it may be beneficial to institute dynamic polarization.

In one example, a dynamic polarization configuration can be utilized inorder to aid in error correction. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate exemplaryencoding and transmission techniques that utilize polarity parameters.FIG. 6A specifically illustrates a forward error correcting (FEC)technique that utilizes signal polarization. As shown in FIG. 6A, anexemplary data sub-frame 610 may be 4 segments in length, with eachsegment containing the same number of bits. The sub-frame 610 passesthrough an FEC module 620, which encodes the original sub-frame withredundancy or parity to generate an encoded sub-frame 630. The number ofredundancy/parity bits added to the signal depend on a coding rateemployed by the FEC module 620, which may vary depending on one or moreconditions. For example, the number of the redundancy/parity bits mayincrease as channel quality decreases.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the exemplary encoded sub-frame 630 includes 6segments, each having the same number of bits as the segments of theoriginal data sub-frame 610. During transmission, the first wirelesscommunication device 201 transmits the segments with alternatingpolarity. For example, the first wireless communication device 201transmits segment S1 with polarity P1; segment S2 with polarity P2;segment S3 with polarity P1; segment S4 with polarity P2; segment S5with polarity P1; and segment S6 with polarity P2.

In this manner, the devices can utilize the benefits of diversity duringcommunication. For example, segments utilizing the polarization P1 maybe received by the second wireless communication device 202 with worselink quality than the segments utilizing polarization P2. Duringdecoding, the second wireless communication device 202 can rely on theincreased quality of the P2 segments for decoding the proper signal,despite the P1 segments being received at lower link quality.

FIG. 6B specifically illustrates a redundancy error correcting techniquethat utilizes signal polarizations. As shown in FIG. 6B, an exemplarydata sub-frame 615 may be 4 segments in length, with each segmentcontaining the same number of bits. The sub-frame passes through aredundancy module 625, which encodes the original sub-frame withredundancy to generate an encoded sub-frame 635. During the redundancyencoding, the redundancy module 625 essential repeats each of the 4segments for each polarity.

Consequently, the resulting encoded sub-frame 635 includes 8 segments(equal to twice the number of original segments), each having the samenumber of bits as the segments of the original data sub-frame 615.During transmission, the first wireless communication device 201transmits the segments with alternating polarity. For example, the firstwireless communication device 201 transmits segment S1 with polarity P1;segment S1 again with polarity P2; segment S2 with polarity P1; segmentS2 again with polarity P2; segment S3 with polarity P1; segment S3 againwith polarity P2; segment S4 with polarity P1; and segment S4 again withpolarity P2.

In this manner, the devices again utilize the benefits of diversityduring communication. For example, segments received by the secondwireless communication device 202 can be recombined based on theirrespective signal qualities. Specifically, if the second wirelesscommunication device 202 determines that the P1 segments have a lowersignal quality than the P2 segments, the second wireless communicationdevice 202 can decode the original signal, giving more weight to the P2segments than the P1 segments.

Although this technique has been described with respect to singleredundancy (transmitting each segment one additional time), similarprinciples can be applied to multiple redundancy (transmitting eachsegment more than one additional time). By weighing the accuracy of thereceived segments based on the quality of their correspondingpolarizations, transmission bit errors can more easily and efficientlybe identified and corrected.

As shown above, these exemplary configurations constitute dynamicpolarization configurations because they transmit consecutive segmentsof information (from even a single data sub-frame) using differentpolarities. However, dynamic polarization configurations are not limitedto these examples, and may also include configurations in which thepolarization automatically switched for each data sub-frame, or aftereach group of sub-frames, and any combination thereof.

Similar to static polarization switching, the wireless communicationdevices must have some algorithm or method for determining when toremain in a static polarization configuration, and when it becomesnecessary or desirable to switch to a dynamic polarizationconfiguration.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary method for selectinga polarization configuration of transmitted signals. In FIG. 7, steps710-740 substantially correspond to steps 410-440, respectively, whichare described above. Specifically, the first wireless communicationdevice 201 transmits signals in either the first polarity or the secondpolarity (710, 730 respectively). When the signal quality of signalreceived in the currently-selected polarity falls below a predeterminedthreshold (720, 740 respectively), the second wireless communicationdevice 202 initiates a polarization switch (730, 710 respectively).

In order to also account for the possibility of switching into a dynamicpolarization configuration, the method of FIG. 4 can simply be modifiedwith additional steps. In particular, as shown in FIG. 7, each time thereceiver initiates a static polarization switch, it also increments acounter (750), and continues to monitor this counter relative to atimestamp.

In a first scenario, the timestamp reaches some time limit (e.g., acoherence limit) prior to the counter reaching some counter limit (e.g.,switch limit) (760). This indicates that static polarization selectionsare sufficiently coherent to warrant remaining in static polarizationconfigurations. In other words, the polarizations have not switched toomany times over the last time interval (as measured by the coherencetime limit). Therefore, the devices can continue to operate in staticpolarization configurations. Consequently, the counter and the timestampare resent (770), and the procedure continues in static mode.

In a second scenario, the counter reaches the switch limit prior to thetimestamp reaching the coherence limit (780). This indicates that staticpolarization selections have become insufficient for any of the reasonsdiscussed above. In other words, the polarizations have been switchedtoo many times over the last time interval (as measured by the coherencetime limit). Therefore, the devices should switch to a dynamicpolarization configuration (790).

Using this algorithm, the wireless communication devices can efficientlydetermine when it becomes necessary to switch from static polarizationconfigurations to a dynamic polarization configuration. Further,although not illustrated, the second wireless communication device 202can re-enter static mode by monitoring the channel responses and/orsignal qualities of the differently-polarized signals, and determiningthat one polarization has become significantly stronger than the otheror that the channel is no longer fluctuating as rapidly as before. Inthis manner, even further improvement or optimization can be achievedduring communication between the first and second wireless communicationdevices.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary first wirelesscommunication device and a plurality of exemplary second wirelesscommunication devices that are implemented as part of the wirelesscommunication environment. In particular, while the embodimentsdiscussed in conjunction with FIGS. 2-7 have focused on communicationsbetween a pair of wireless communication devices such as (110, 150) or(201, 202), the techniques described herein can be applied to othermulti-user environments such as those described in conjunction with FIG.1A. In particular, wireless communication device 800 can be a basestation or access point, such as base station or access point 18, andcan include the functionality of first wireless communication device201. Wireless communication devices 802 and 804 can be any of thereal-time and non-real-time devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22 and 25 andfurther can include the functionality of second wireless communicationdevice 202. Also, as previously discussed in conjunction with firstwireless communication device 201 and second wireless communicationdevice 202, the wireless communication devices 800, 802, and 804 caneach include the functionality ascribed to both the first wirelesscommunication device 201 and second wireless communication device 202 toimplement bidirectional communication between these devices.

Referring back to the reference numerals introduced in conjunction withFIG. 2, wireless communication 800 includes a polarity setting module220 configured to set a plurality of polarity modes for the wirelesscommunication with a plurality of external devices (802, 804, . . . ).The plurality of polarity modes include selected ones of at least: afirst polarity mode, and a second polarity mode. In operation, thepolarity setting module 220 sets the plurality of polarity modes basedon information received from each of the plurality of external devices(802, 804, . . . ) to facilitate the efficient communication, todynamically adjust to channel conditions and/or to mitigateco-interference between these devices. As discussed in conjunction withthe second wireless communication device 202, this information can be inthe form of the data in TABLE 1, a signal quality measurement orindicator, or other data that reflects the channel conditions,throughput or other performance measure for each polarity mode.

The framing module 230 is configured to generate data for transmissionto the plurality of external devices (802, 804, . . . ) via RF signalingin accordance with the plurality of polarity modes set by the polaritysetting module 220 and implemented via baseband or RF control and/or viaantenna selection.

Various use cases in this multiuser environment are presented inconjunction with FIGS. 9-13 that follow.

FIG. 9 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communications betweenan exemplary first wireless communication device and a plurality ofexemplary second wireless communication devices as part of the wirelesscommunication environment. In this embodiment, time divisionmultiplexing is applied to separate communications between the wirelesscommunication device 800 and the wireless communication devices 802 and804 in a plurality of time slots 900, 902, 904, 906, etc.

In operation, a polarization P1 is determined for communication bywireless communication devices 800 and 802 as previously described.Further, a polarization P2 is separately determined for communication bywireless communication devices 800 and 804.

The polarities P1 and P2 can be the same polarity mode or differentpolarity modes depending on the channel conditions. The polarity settingmodule of wireless communication device 800 sets a P1 polarity for thewireless communications with wireless communication device 802 during atime slots 900, 904, etc. The polarity setting module of wirelesscommunication device 800 sets a P2 polarity for the wirelesscommunications with a wireless communication device during a time slots902, 906, etc.

As previously discussed, once initial polarizations are set for eachcommunication pair, the polarity setting module of wirelesscommunication device 800 can dynamically adjust the polarities P1 and P2for the wireless communication with each of the wireless communicationdevices 802 and 804. These polarity adjustments can be made incoordination with the corresponding device 802 or 804 based on feedbackreceived from that device, but can be made independently from the otherdevice. In this fashion, P1 and P2 can be set and can vary independentlyfrom one another.

FIG. 10 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communicationsbetween an exemplary first wireless communication device and a pluralityof exemplary second wireless communication devices as part of thewireless communication environment. In this embodiment, time divisionmultiplexing is applied to downstream communications between thewireless communication device 800 and the wireless communication devices802, 804, 802′ and 804′ in a plurality of time slots 1000, 1002, 1004,1006, etc. In this scenario downstream data is transmitted by wirelesscommunication device 800 to wireless communication devices 802 and 804during time slots 1000 and 1002, contemporaneously and at the samefrequency via, for example, spatial orthogonality. Downstream data istransmitted by wireless communication device 800 to wirelesscommunication devices 802′ and 804′ during time slots 1004 and 1006,contemporaneously and at the same frequency via, for example, spatialorthogonality.

In operation, the polarization setting module of each wirelesscommunication device sets it polarity. For example, a polarization P1 isdetermined for downstream communication by wireless communication device800 to communication devices 802 and 804 based on information receivedfrom these devices. Further, a different polarization P2 is determinedfor downstream communication by 800 to communication devices 802′ and804′ based on information received from these other devices. Inparticular, wireless communication device 800 considers feedback datafrom each of the devices 802, 802′, 804 and 804′ to mitigate orotherwise reduce possible co-interference by grouping together possibleinterfering devices in different groups. In this fashion, wheninformation received indicates possible co-interference between devices802/802′ or possible co-interference between devices 804/804′ thesedevices can be assigned to different time slots and/or differentpolarizations.

Once the transmit polarities for wireless communication device 800 areset, each receiving device can set its own receive polarity to achievethe best reception. In the example shown, the wireless communicationdevice 802 utilizes polarity P1 while the wireless communication device804 utilizes polarity P2 for receiving the P1 downstream communicationsduring time slots 1000 and 1002. Further, the wireless communicationdevice 802′ utilizes polarity P1 while the wireless communication device804′ utilizes polarity P2 for receiving the P2 downstream communicationsduring time slots 1004 and 1006.

As previously discussed, once initial downstream polarizations are setfor each communication group, the polarity setting module of wirelesscommunication device 800 can dynamically adjust the polarities P1 and P2for the wireless communication with each of the wireless communicationdevices 802, 802′, 804 and 804′. These polarity adjustments can be madein coordination with the corresponding devices 802, 802′, 804 and 804′based on feedback received from these devices. Further, the receptionpolarization can be dynamically adjusted independently by each receiver,based on channel conditions and based on the transmit polarization, toachieve the best results at each receiver.

FIG. 11 illustrates a temporal diagram of wireless communicationsbetween an exemplary first wireless communication device and a pluralityof exemplary second wireless communication devices as part of thewireless communication environment. In this embodiment, time divisionmultiplexing is applied to downstream communications between thewireless communication device 800 and the wireless communication devices802, 804, 802′ and 804′ in a plurality of time slots 1100, 1102, 1104,1106, etc. In this scenario upstream data is transmitted to wirelesscommunication device 800 by wireless communication devices 802 and 804during time slots 1100 and 1102, contemporaneously and at the samefrequency via, for example, spatial orthogonality. Upstream data istransmitted to wireless communication device 800 by wirelesscommunication devices 802′ and 804′ during time slots 1104 and 1106,contemporaneously and at the same frequency via, for example, spatialorthogonality.

In operation, the polarization setting module of each wirelesscommunication devices sets it polarity. In one embodiment, wirelesscommunication device 800 considers feedback data from each of thedevices 802, 802′, 804 and 804′ to mitigate or otherwise reduce possibleco-interference by grouping together possible interfering devices indifferent groups for the allocation of time slots. In this fashion, wheninformation received indicates possible co-interference between devices802/802′ or possible co-interference between devices 804/804′ thesedevices can be assigned to different time slots and/or different receivepolarizations. Each transmitting device can set its own transmitpolarity to achieve the best reception. In the example shown, thewireless communication device 802 utilizes polarity P1 while thewireless communication device 804 utilizes polarity P2 for upstreamcommunications during time slots 1100 and 1102. Further, the wirelesscommunication device 802′ utilizes polarity P1 while the wirelesscommunication device 804′ utilizes polarity P2 for upstreamcommunications during time slots 1104 and 1106.

In addition, a polarization P1 is determined by wireless communicationdevice 800 for reception of upstream communication from communicationdevices 802 and 804 by based on information shared between devices.Further, a polarization P2 is determined by wireless communicationdevice 800 for reception of upstream communication from communicationdevices 802′ and 804′ by based on information shared between these otherdevices.

As previously discussed, once initial upstream transmit and receivepolarizations are set for each device, the polarity setting module ofeach wireless communication device can dynamically adjust the polaritiesas required to adapt to channel conditions, to achieve the best results.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flow diagram of a method used in conjunction thewireless communication environment. In particular, a method is presentedfor use in conjunction with one or more functions and features describedin conjunction with FIGS. 1-11. Step 1200 includes receiving informationfrom a plurality of external devices. Step 1202 includes setting aplurality of polarity modes for the wireless communication with theplurality of external devices, wherein the plurality of polarity modesinclude selected ones of at least: a first polarity mode, and a secondpolarity mode, and wherein the plurality of polarity modes are set basedon the information received from the plurality of external devices. Step1204 includes generating data for transmission to the plurality ofexternal devices via RF signaling in accordance with the plurality ofpolarity modes.

In an embodiment step 1202 includes setting the first polarity mode forthe wireless communications with a first of the plurality of externaldevices during a first time slot and setting the second polarity modefor the wireless communications with a second of the plurality ofexternal devices during a second time slot. Step 1204 can includegenerating the data for transmission to at least two of the plurality ofexternal devices contemporaneously and at the same frequency. Step 1202can include setting the plurality of polarity modes for the transmissionto the at least two of the plurality of external devices based on theinformation received from the plurality of external devices to reduceco-interference for the at least two of the plurality of externaldevices. The first polarity mode can be in accordance with a firsttransmission polarity and the second plurality mode can be in accordancewith a second transmission polarity, wherein the first transmissionpolarity is orthogonal to the second transmission polarity.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flow diagram of a method used in conjunction thewireless communication environment. In particular, a method is presentedfor use in conjunction with one or more functions and features describedin conjunction with FIGS. 1-11. Step 1300 includes dynamically adjustingthe plurality of polarity modes for the wireless communication with theplurality of external devices based on the information received from theplurality of external devices.

As may also be used herein, the terms “processing module”, “module”,“processing circuit”, and/or “processing unit” (e.g., including variousmodules and/or circuitries such as may be operative, implemented, and/orfor encoding, for decoding, for baseband processing, etc.) may be asingle processing device or a plurality of processing devices. Such aprocessing device may be a microprocessor, micro-controller, digitalsignal processor, microcomputer, central processing unit, fieldprogrammable gate array, programmable logic device, state machine, logiccircuitry, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or any device thatmanipulates signals (analog and/or digital) based on hard coding of thecircuitry and/or operational instructions. The processing module,module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit may have anassociated memory and/or an integrated memory element, which may be asingle memory device, a plurality of memory devices, and/or embeddedcircuitry of the processing module, module, processing circuit, and/orprocessing unit. Such a memory device may be a read-only memory (ROM),random access memory (RAM), volatile memory, non-volatile memory, staticmemory, dynamic memory, flash memory, cache memory, and/or any devicethat stores digital information. Note that if the processing module,module, processing circuit, and/or processing unit includes more thanone processing device, the processing devices may be centrally located(e.g., directly coupled together via a wired and/or wireless busstructure) or may be distributedly located (e.g., cloud computing viaindirect coupling via a local area network and/or a wide area network).Further note that if the processing module, module, processing circuit,and/or processing unit implements one or more of its functions via astate machine, analog circuitry, digital circuitry, and/or logiccircuitry, the memory and/or memory element storing the correspondingoperational instructions may be embedded within, or external to, thecircuitry comprising the state machine, analog circuitry, digitalcircuitry, and/or logic circuitry. Still further note that, the memoryelement may store, and the processing module, module, processingcircuit, and/or processing unit executes, hard coded and/or operationalinstructions corresponding to at least some of the steps and/orfunctions illustrated in one or more of the Figures. Such a memorydevice or memory element can be included in an article of manufacture.

Various embodiments have been described above with the aid of methodsteps illustrating the performance of specified functions andrelationships thereof. The boundaries and sequence of these functionalbuilding blocks and method steps have been arbitrarily defined hereinfor convenience of description. Alternate boundaries and sequences canbe defined so long as the specified functions and relationships areappropriately performed. Any such alternate boundaries or sequences arethus within the scope and spirit of the claims. Further, the boundariesof these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined forconvenience of description. Alternate boundaries could be defined aslong as the certain significant functions are appropriately performed.Similarly, flow diagram blocks may also have been arbitrarily definedherein to illustrate certain significant functionality. To the extentused, the flow diagram block boundaries and sequence could have beendefined otherwise and still perform the certain significantfunctionality. Such alternate definitions of both functional buildingblocks and flow diagram blocks and sequences are thus within the scopeand spirit of the claims. One of average skill in the art will alsorecognize that the functional building blocks, and other illustrativeblocks, modules and components herein, can be implemented as illustratedor by discrete components, application specific integrated circuits,processors executing appropriate software and the like or anycombination thereof.

A physical embodiment of an apparatus, an article of manufacture, amachine, and/or of a process that includes one or more embodiments mayinclude one or more of the aspects, features, concepts, examples, etc.described with herein. Further, from figure to figure, the embodimentsmay incorporate the same or similarly named functions, steps, modules,etc. that may use the same or different reference numbers and, as such,the functions, steps, modules, etc. may be the same or similarfunctions, steps, modules, etc. or different ones.

The term “module” is used in the description of the various. A moduleincludes a functional block that is implemented via hardware to performone or module functions such as the processing of one or more inputsignals to produce one or more output signals. The hardware thatimplements the module may itself operate in conjunction software, and/orfirmware. As used herein, a module may contain one or more sub-modulesthat themselves are modules.

While particular combinations of various options, methods, functions andfeatures have been expressly described herein, other combinations ofthese options, methods, functions and features are likewise possible.The various embodiments are not limited by the particular examplesdisclosed herein and expressly incorporates these other combinations.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless communication device capable ofwireless communication with a plurality of external devices, thewireless communication device comprising: a polarity setting moduleconfigured to set a plurality of antenna polarity modes for the wirelesscommunication with the plurality of external devices via selected onesof a plurality of antenna polarizations, wherein the plurality ofantenna polarity modes include selected ones of at least: a firstpolarity mode, and a second polarity mode, and wherein the polaritysetting module sets the plurality of antenna polarity modes based oninformation received from the plurality of external devices; and aframing module configured to generate data for transmission to theplurality of external devices via radio frequency (RF) signaling inaccordance with the plurality of antenna polarity modes set by thepolarity setting module, wherein at least one frame of the data includesa channel estimation field split into a first sub-field portiontransmitted via the first polarity mode and a second sub-field portiontransmitted via the second polarity mode; wherein the polarity settingmodule switches between a first transmission antenna polarization of theplurality of antenna polarizations for transmission of the firstsub-field portion via the first polarity mode and a second transmissionantenna polarization of the plurality of antenna polarizations fortransmission of the second sub-field portion via the second polaritymode.
 2. The wireless communication device of claim 1 wherein thepolarity setting module sets the first polarity mode for the wirelesscommunications with a first of the plurality of external devices duringa first time slot and sets the second polarity mode for the wirelesscommunications with a second of the plurality of external devices duringa second time slot.
 3. The wireless communication device of claim 1wherein the framing module generates data for transmission to at leasttwo of the plurality of external devices contemporaneously and at thesame frequency.
 4. The wireless communication device of claim 3 whereinthe polarity setting module sets the plurality of antenna polarity modesfor the transmission to the at least two of the plurality of externaldevices based on the information received from the plurality of externaldevices to reduce co-interference for the at least two of the pluralityof external devices.
 5. The wireless communication device of claim 1wherein the polarity setting module dynamically adjusts the plurality ofantenna polarity modes for the wireless communication with the pluralityof external devices based on the information received from the pluralityof external devices.
 6. The wireless communication device of claim 1wherein the first transmission antenna polarization is orthogonal to thesecond transmission antenna polarization.
 7. The wireless communicationdevice of claim 1 wherein the wireless communication device is one of: abase station and an access point.
 8. A wireless communication devicecapable of wireless communication with a plurality of external devices,the wireless communication device comprising: a polarity setting moduleconfigured to set and dynamically adjust a plurality of antenna polaritymodes for the wireless communication with the plurality of externaldevices via selected ones of a plurality of antenna polarizations,wherein the plurality of antenna polarity modes include selected ones ofat least: a first polarity mode, and a second polarity mode, and whereinthe polarity setting module sets and dynamically adjusts the pluralityof antenna polarity modes based on information received from theplurality of external devices; and a framing module configured togenerate data for transmission to the plurality of external devices viaradio frequency (RF) signaling in accordance with the plurality ofantenna polarity modes set by the polarity setting module, wherein atleast one frame of the data includes a channel estimation field splitinto a first sub-field portion transmitted via the first polarity modeand a second sub-field portion transmitted via the second polarity mode;wherein the polarity setting module switches between a firsttransmission antenna polarization of the plurality of antennapolarizations for transmission of the first sub-field portion via thefirst polarity mode and a second transmission antenna polarization ofthe plurality of antenna polarizations for transmission of the secondsub-field portion via the second polarity mode.
 9. The wirelesscommunication device of claim 8 wherein the polarity setting module setsthe first polarity mode for the wireless communications with a first ofthe plurality of external devices during a first time slot and sets thesecond polarity mode for the wireless communications with a second ofthe plurality of external devices during a second time slot.
 10. Thewireless communication device of claim 9 wherein the first transmissionantenna polarization is orthogonal to the second transmission antennapolarization.
 11. The wireless communication device of claim 8 whereinthe framing module generates data for transmission to at least two ofthe plurality of external devices contemporaneously and at the samefrequency.
 12. The wireless communication device of claim 11 wherein thepolarity setting module sets the plurality of antenna polarity modes forthe transmission to the at least two of the plurality of externaldevices based on the information received from the plurality of externaldevices to reduce co-interference for the at least two of the pluralityof external devices.
 13. The wireless communication device of claim 8wherein the wireless communication device is one of: a base station andan access point.
 14. A method for use in wireless communication devicecapable of wireless communication with a plurality of external devices,the method comprising: receiving information from the plurality ofexternal devices; setting a plurality of antenna polarity modes for thewireless communication with the plurality of external devices viaselected ones of a plurality of antenna polarizations, wherein theplurality of antenna polarity modes include selected ones of at least: afirst polarity mode, and a second polarity mode, and wherein theplurality of antenna polarity modes are set based on the informationreceived from the plurality of external devices; and generating data fortransmission to the plurality of external devices via radio frequency(RF) signaling in accordance with the plurality of antenna polaritymodes, wherein at least one frame of the data includes a channelestimation field split into a first sub-field portion transmitted viathe first polarity mode and a second sub-field portion transmitted viathe second polarity mode; wherein setting the plurality of antennapolarity modes includes switching between a first transmission antennapolarization of the plurality of antenna polarizations for transmissionof the first sub-field portion via the first polarity mode and a secondtransmission antenna polarization of the plurality of antennapolarizations for transmission of the second sub-field portion via thesecond polarity mode.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein setting theplurality of polarity modes includes setting the first polarity mode forthe wireless communications with a first of the plurality of externaldevices during a first time slot and setting the second polarity modefor the wireless communications with a second of the plurality ofexternal devices during a second time slot.
 16. The method of claim 14wherein generating the data for transmission includes generating thedata for transmission to at least two of the plurality of externaldevices contemporaneously and at the same frequency.
 17. The method ofclaim 16 wherein setting the plurality of polarity modes includessetting the plurality of polarity modes for the transmission to the atleast two of the plurality of external devices based on the informationreceived from the plurality of external devices to reduceco-interference for the at least two of the plurality of externaldevices.
 18. The method of claim 14 further comparing: dynamicallyadjusting the plurality of antenna polarity modes for the wirelesscommunication with the plurality of external devices based on theinformation received from the plurality of external devices.
 19. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the first transmission antenna polarizationis orthogonal to the second transmission antenna polarization.
 20. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the wireless communication device is one of:a base station and an access point.